The reception contains a much larger crowd than the ceremony itself. While there were about thirty people in the Rose Garden, there are over two hundred in the East Room. He scans the room for Amy but doesn't immediately spot her. And almost as soon as he arrives he's ambushed by Senator Jenkins, who, despite Josh and Donna's insistence that they didn't want any shop talk at the wedding, wants to discuss the upcoming midterms. Sam brushes him off as quickly as possible before making his way to the bar.
He orders a scotch and manages to dodge Representatives Blinken and Hammond on his way to the table reserved for the wedding party. As he approaches, he hears the announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time as a married couple, Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss!"
The room erupts into applause as Josh and Donna enter and make their way to the table at the front of the room where Sam already stands. "Congratulations," he tells them, hugging Josh before kissing Donna on the cheek.
They all go to sit together, including the President and First Lady, and Sam notes three seats left empty. Two over by Donna's seat, which he assumes are reserved for CJ and Danny, who haven't quite made their way to the reception yet, and one next to his chair. Before he has the chance to catch the name on the seating card, Donna loops her arm through his and pulls him back toward the bar. "Hey," she greets.
"If I haven't mentioned it enough today, you look beautiful," he tells her. "And I'm so very happy for you two."
She hasn't stopped smiling all day, and if possible it grows wider before she stretches her jaw comically. "I swear, Sam, if I don't stop smiling my face is going to get stuck like this," she jokes before sucking in her cheeks like a fish. As soon as she stops, her face breaks into a grin again and she laughs. "I think the only thing making it less embarrassing is that Josh can't seem to stop either."
Sam glances over toward the groom, who is having a seemingly jovial discussion with the current President. "It's not embarrassing," he assures her as she asks the bartender for a glass of white wine. "It's your wedding day. Something's wrong if you're not smiling like an idiot."
She nods and takes her glass from the bartender with a thanks. "If I don't get a drink now, I may never get one what with having to make the rounds. Why did we invite so many people again?"
"Avoiding political ramifications from slighted representatives?" He offers.
"Right, that." She giggles and takes a sip from her glass. "So I wanted to talk to you, and don't think that I don't take this seriously because of my current inability to disengage my zygomaticus major."
"Your what?"
"My smiling muscles," she clarifies. "I talked to Amy last night."
Sam's smile fades at that and he lifts his own drink to sip. "Oh?"
"Yeah, we had a low-key bachelorette party last night in the residence, and she was practically ready to bolt from the moment she walked in the door. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Sam sighs and shoves his free hand in his pocket. "What did she tell you?"
"The truth, I assume. That she kissed you and you stopped her."
He nods solemnly. "There's a little more to it than that, but that's the gist. How upset was she?" He asks.
"It's Amy. She's tough. Doesn't like feeling vulnerable. She hid it pretty well, but I could tell something was off."
He just stands there for a moment, swirling his drink in the glass. "I wanted to explain, but she left before I could."
"Well then explain now," Donna shrugs, prompting him to nod without meeting her gaze. "Sam," she prods, dipping her head. "You like her, right?"
He takes a sip from his drink, his mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah," he admits.
"Then talk to her," she insists, taking his arm and leading him back to the table.
Josh smiles as they return and stands up to pull out Donna's chair. "I finally got her to marry me and now you try to steal her away?" He jokes, sliding his wife's chair in as she sits.
"Yeah because I thought this was a much better time to make my move than during those eight years she was off-limits to you."
"Wait, is it too late to change my mind?" Donna quips, causing Josh's eyebrows to shoot up as he looks at her.
"Married for one hour and she's already preparing to jump ship," he scoffs playfully as he drapes his arm over the back of her chair.
"Nah, you're stuck with me," she assures him, leaning in for a quick kiss.
Across the table, CJ and Danny have finally arrived, and he helps her sit in her chair, reminding Sam of the empty seat next to him. Just as he goes to look at the name card, he hears her voice. "Donna, are we ejecting people if they talk about politics or was that note in the invitation just a preventative measure?"
Sam looks up to see Amy pulling out the empty chair between him and President Santos and finds himself feeling relieved at her presence. "Mostly preventative, but if anything gets too heated I have no reservations about abusing my husband's Secret Service control," jokes Donna.
"You, however, are banned from any shop talk today," Josh amends, pointing at the brunette. "I can't handle a knock-down, drag-out fight that will ultimately end up with your opponent in tears."
"Well how am I supposed to have any fun now?" Amy faux-pouts.
Almost as soon as everyone at the table is seated, they're presented with their food, prompting a "thank god" from the bride, who explains she hasn't eaten all day – mostly due to excitement about the food they would be served but also because she was worried about fitting into her dress.
They eat and chat, conversation flowing easily among the group as they do. Across the table, Sam sees Danny wordlessly switch CJ's empty plate with his own so she can finish off the last of his chicken dish. She doesn't notice at first as she's enthralled in her conversation with Josh, but when she reaches for her seltzer, she notices the plate and smiles to herself before turning and kissing her husband's cheek in thanks.
"Two hundred guests. Who thought that was a good idea?" Mutters Josh, who receives a quirked brow from his bride. "Oh right, that would be me," he adds. "But if you recall, I wanted to get married a year and a half ago in Hawaii – "
Next to him, Sam hears a quiet laugh and he turns to look at Amy, whose focus is elsewhere. He follows her gaze to a neighboring table, where a good chunk of the Santos administration is engaged in an animated discussion. Otto is waving his arms spiritedly. "Lou looks like she's about to throw her drink at him," Sam comments with a smirk.
"Yeah, that or jump him," Amy bats back, causing them both to laugh quietly. It's the first real smile she's directed toward him today.
He opens his mouth to speak, but he's interrupted by CJ standing to make her toast. "Forgive me," she begins, laughing into the microphone. "It's a little difficult to get up when you have a basketball for a stomach." The crowd laughs, and she continues. Next to her, Josh and Donna crane their heads upward and smile. They have moved their chairs close together, and Donna is leaning into the crook of his arm and still smiling uncontrollably. CJ continues with her speech, and Sam watches but doesn't fully listen as he goes over his own speech in his head.
"I think I speak for everyone when I say congratulations on finally making it down the aisle." CJ raises her glass and nods at the couple. "To the bride and groom," she finishes, causing everyone to toast with her before she passes the mic over to Sam.
Sam takes a deep breath and looks at the pair to his left. "There's a lot to say about these two," he begins before looking out at the guests. "Anyone who knows them knows that this has been a long time coming. There were times when there were doubts that it would ever happen – that these two people who clearly love each other might never admit it. Because as much as they love each other, their path here was far from easy." His eyes flicker to the woman sitting next to him, and her expression is so soft, so gentle, that it makes his breath catch for a moment. He lets himself smile at her for the briefest of moments, hoping to communicate everything he wants her to know before continuing to address the crowd.
"I am fortunate enough to call both of them my best friends. For years I watched them dance around each other, trying to pretend that what they shared together was nothing more than a friendship between coworkers. We all knew better," he directs to the couple.
"Over the course of eight years, I watched them slowly come to the conclusion we had all found from day one, and despite evidence they would remain oblivious, I never once doubted them. Their love was inevitable, as though they were created in the very same moment with the other in mind as their perfect fit."
He takes a deep breath. "I have never been very good at relationships. But if even these two people who are absolutely each other's better half struggled to find their way to each other, I know that one day all of us will find our perfect match.
Sam smiles and lifts his glass. "To Josh and Donna," he finishes, prompting everyone around to toast them as well. He looks at the bride and groom and finds Donna has tears in her eyes as she pulls Josh in for a sweet kiss.
He gives the microphone to President Santos next, and he and his wife stand to deliver their toast together. Sam doesn't pay much attention though because as soon as he sits, Amy finds his hand, her fingers fitting perfectly between his, and the beating of his heart booms louder than the voice of the President of the United States.